The Smithsonian's 175th Anniversary
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Our History
The National Air and Space Museum opened to the public on July 1, 1976. However, aviation was a major part of the Smithsonian's work since its founding. Discover the Smithsonian's history of air and space, including how some of the museum's collection was once displayed outside the Arts and Industries building, an area known as "Rocket Row."
Learn MoreExperimenting with Aviation
Long before our Museum opened, aviation was an important part of the Smithsonian. Samuel Pierpont Langley became the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1887. In 1891, he began experiments with large, tandem-winged models powered by small steam and gasoline engines he called aerodromes. After several failures with designs that were too fragile and under-powered to sustain themselves, Langley had his first genuine success on May 6, 1896, with his Aerodrome Number 5. It made the world's first successful flight of an unpiloted, engine-driven, heavier-than-air craft of substantial size.
Behind the Scenes
Conserving and Digitizing Neil Armstrong's Spacesuit
One of the objects in our collection is the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore when he stepped on the Moon, the first human to do so. Find out how we're caring for this very special artifact.
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Conserving Enterprise
In 2016, after almost two years of extensive research and meticulous conservation, the Star Trek starship Enterprise studio model, restored to its appearance at the end of filming for the original television series (1966-1969).
The Museum’s goal was to stabilize the model, document its history of changes, and return it to its appearance during filming, in August 1967, of the episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” which marked the last known modification of the model during Star Trek’s production.
Learn MoreStories from the Archive
In addition to the objects in our collection, the archives span the history of flight from ancient times to the present day and include a wide range of visual and textual materials, including documents, photographs, motion picture film and video, and more than two million technical drawings. Discover some of the stories the archives hold.
Helping Shape the Future
Our staff not only studies the past, they help shape the future through their research and their work with outside groups. For instance, John Grant was co-chair of the Mars 2020 Landing Site Steering Committee and helped pick Perseverance's landing location of Jezero Crater.
More About Our Work
